OUNSDALE HIGH SCHOOL
September 2014
Issue 1
E-NEWSLETTER
Welcome Back
Welcome back to the new academic year and a particularly warm welcome to parents of our Year 7 students and to the
parents of students in other year groups who are new to the school.
It is great to have the students back (school is too quiet without them!) and we are looking forward to a challenging and
exciting year.
Celebrations as results are published
Students and staff celebrated over the
summer following the publication of
results at ’A’ level and GCSE.
As always we were delighted that the
hard work and commitment of
students and staff have been
rewarded and are grateful for the
support of parents.
This year 70% of students gained A* –
C in English and 71% gained A* – C in
Maths. 61% of students gained 5
GCSE passes A*-C including English
and Maths .
There were some very impressive
individual performances and the
school’s top performer this year was
Megan Kiely who achieved 9 A*
grades and two A’s.
At ‘ A’ Level we had a 99% pass rate
with 39% of grades at A*, A or B.
We were also delighted with the
number of outstanding individual
performances including Richard Hall
who achieved Mathematics (A),
Chemistry (A) and Physics (B).
year Adam gained an A in Physics
and A in Further Maths this
summer to go with the A* in
Maths, A in Chemistry and
Distinction in ICT he achieved last
year. He has accepted a place at
Birmingham University to study
Physics.
Further details of outstanding
individual exam performances can
be seen on the website.
Adam Evans also deserves special
congratulations. After deciding to
stay at Ounsdale for an additional
Autumn Term Dates
Improving Boys Attainment Parents Meeting
Thursday 25th September (6.00pm)
UCAS Information Evening—Y12 and Y13
Monday 29th September (6.00pm)
Making a Success of Year 10 Parents Meeting
Thursday 2nd October (6.00—7.00pm)
Making a Success of Year 11 Parents Meeting
Wednesday 8th October (6.00—7.00pm)
Year 7 Parents Evening with Form Tutors
Monday 13th October (4.00pm)
Introduction to Year 8 Parents Meeting
Tuesday 14th October (6.00—7.00pm)
Sixth Form Open Evening
Thursday 23rd October (6.00pm—9.00pm)
Please check the website for full details of the calendar for this year
Keep up to date with our website www.ounsdale.co.uk
OUNSDALE HIGH SCHOOL
Page 2
INVICTUS Multi Academy Trust Update
As you know we are in the process of applying to convert to an Academy as part of the INVICTUS Multi Academy Trust and
to help keep parents and interested parties updated on our progress with this we have created an INVICTUS page in the
‘About Us’ section of our website.
On Tuesday 8th July the Chair of Governors hosted a meeting to present further details of this proposal to parents and to
give them the opportunity to ask any questions that they had. Approximately 100 parents attended and a copy of the
parents presentation is available on the school website.
During the summer holidays we received a letter from the Minister for Education, Nicky Morgan, giving us permission to
pursue the transfer to an Academy and be a founder member of the INVICTUS Multi Academy Trust so we are in the
process of exploring the legal requirements and due diligence processes to enable this to happen.
We are now in a position to seek formal feedback from parents and stakeholders and have opened a formal , four week
consultation process from Wednesday 24th September for interested parties to express their views to Governors. Parents
are asked to make any written comments to Richard Westwood, Chair of
Governors, through the school office by Wednesday 22nd October at 3.00pm.
Uniform
Many thanks for your support in ensuring that your child is wearing the correct uniform. We had to deal with a few
issues relating to trousers and shoes which are now being resolved and I am extremely grateful that the vast majority of
parents have been fully supportive in our drive to ensure students are properly dressed. A reminder please that all
students except those in Year 11 should be wearing clip on ties as these have had a significant impact on helping
students to look smarter. As the cold weather approaches please make sure your child has a coat and does not wear a
sweatshirt, tracksuit or hooded top.
Full details of the school’s uniform requirements can be found on the website.
September Mailing
Each September we write to all parents to request details of any changes to the information that we hold about their
child and ask them to update consent forms. We also ask parents for a contribution to School Fund which is used to
enable us to improve facilities and opportunities for students. The September Mailing will be sent out via students next
week and we would be grateful if forms could be returned as soon as possible.
Introducing our new staff
We are pleased to have
welcomed a number of
new staff to the school this
year and wish them well in
their new posts.
Miss Willetts has joined us
as Second in English
alongside Miss Thandi and
Miss Rhodes who have also
joined the English Faculty.
Mrs Harvey has taken over
as the school’s SENCO.
In Maths Mr Quigley and
Miss Nicklin have joined the
team.
Mr Pickford has become
Head
of
the
Communications
and
Performance Faculty.
In Humanities we welcome
Miss Boyle and Miss
Edwards.
We have a new Second in
Science Miss Hardawa and two
other new Science staff Miss
Shaw and Miss Towey.
We are delighted to welcome
back Mrs Winwood
from
maternity leave.
Miss Wilkinson has joined the
SEND Team and Mrs Langford
and Mr Kirman are the new
Art and DT Faculty Technicians.
Keep up to date with our website www.ounsdale.co.uk
ISSUE 1
Page 3
Raising Standards - Higher Expectations
You will see evidence during
the year of the work we are
doing to raise standards in
school and we look forward to
your support with this.
Revised Behaviour Policy
During the summer term we
made a number of key
changes. Students who disrupt
learning are now only given
one warning before being
given a further sanction and a
committee of Governors has
been set up to meet with the
parents
of
children
who
persistently disrupt learning to
insist
that
the
school’s
expectations are met.
Show My Homework
We want to ensure that all
students are completing their
homework and extending their
learning and to support students
and parents in achieving this
have introduced a web based
system to set and monitor
homework:
(showmyhomework.co.uk)
Success Meetings for Parents
There is no doubt that the
examinations system has become
more challenging and we have
introduced a series of meetings
for parents to advise on how they
can actively support their child to
be successful. This term we hope
to meet Year 11, Year 10 and
Year 8 parents.
Details of all of the changes and
improvements we have made
this year are on the school
website.
School Governors
The school is fortunate to be
served by a strong team of
Governors who use their skills
and experience to support,
advise and guide in areas such
as:

Strategic planning

Monitoring and
evaluating provision

Financial management

Parental
communication and
concerns

Policies and
procedures
Governors meet four times per
year as a full group as well as
working
together
in
Committees
to
support,
evaluate and drive school
improvement.
This year’s Governors are:
Mrs S Cox
Mrs C Williams
Mr S Tomlinson
Mr G Singh
Mrs Y Davies
Miss C Brown (Principal)
Mrs J Lambeth(Teacher)
Mrs K Cook (Director of
Finance)
Mr R Westwood (Chair)
Mr A Dyehouse (Vice Chair)
Mrs M Cleaver
Mrs N Lander
Mrs A Harris
Mr I Morris
Mr K Fellows
Mrs L Atkins
Congratulations to...
All of our ‘A’ level and GCSE
students for their hard
work, commitment and
impressive results.
recently danced in The
Sleeping Beauty with the
English Youth Ballet at
Wolverhampton Grand.
Students who attended the
book fair last week and
helped raise £200 to buy
more books for the school
Rhiannon Shipley for being
invited
to
join
the
Federation of English Karate
Organisations and represent
England.
Year 11 Cope students for
raising
£285.42
for
Macmillan Cancer Support.
Sixth Form students who are
raising awareness of the
Jeans for Genes initiative.
Georgina
Longman
who
All of the students who
impressed
prospective
parents at Open Evening.
Keep up to date with our website www.ounsdale.co.uk
Ounsdale High School
Page 4
Our Vision for 2014
We are continuing to work with staff, students, parents and partners towards achieving
the vision that we developed last year.
‘At Ounsdale High School students are at the centre of everything that we do. We will
strive to give them the self belief to achieve even more than they think is possible. Our
students will be ambitious, innovative and empowered learners who will be given the opportunity to shine.
Through our highly skilled and compassionate team of staff, we will seek to create an exceptional learning
community where everyone can excel. We will achieve this through inspirational leadership at all levels that
will encourage staff to be adventurous and reflective and will be based on a commitment to continuous
improvement and accountability.
Our school will be enhanced by strong relationships and collaboration with key partners such as parents, the
local community and other education providers. An environment of trust, integrity and respect will be created
by effective and regular communication.’
Ounsdale High School will be a community which is vibrant and exhilarating with students and staff who are
happy and successful
School Aims 2014-15
To enable us to achieve our vision we will ensure that:

Strong leadership continues to work on establishing a culture based on high expectations, the highest
possible standards and a commitment to continuous improvement

Critical self-evaluation is focussed on and drives actions which have a clear impact on improving
performance

We provide a graduated response to improving performance that enables all members of the school
community to ‘be the best that they can be’

We are working with students to ensure they are responsible, independent, resilient and supportive
learners who are developing a thirst for knowledge, love of learning and pride in their school and
community

Parents are well informed about their child’s progress and school provision and are working in
partnership with us to ensure their child achieves the best that they can and school provision continues
to improve through regular feedback

We continue to explore, adapt and adopt external good practice, opportunities and requirements to
build capacity and strengthen provision over the medium term
CONTACT US
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Ounsdale High School
We have used the findings from a wide range of selfevaluation activities (including school reviews, student and
parental feedback) to create our vision and set our priorities
for 2014-15.
Ounsdale Road
Wombourne
Wolverhampton
WV5 8BJ
Tel No: 01902 892178
Fax: 01902 892070
We welcome your feedback on any aspect of the school’s
work and invite you to contact us at any time.
‘Exceptional learners making exceptional progress’
Keep up to date with our website www.ounsdale.co.uk